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Introducing a new baby into a house with dogs...

I was talking to a few people down the park the other day about babies and them telling me how their dogs change once the baby enters the house and not understanding why they become aggressive or destructive. Also, a lot of people ask me about the best way to bring a baby home with dogs to avoid any possible problems

I gave a few tips and my thoughts on the right way to introduce a baby to the house, but I have never been in this position myself, having not had a baby yet.

Has anyone gone through this experience and had good or bad outcomes? I would love to hear some stories of ways that worked and ways that didn't work and how they resolved the problem. Also views from the dogs perspective are good. I have my thoughts but would also love to hear yours, as it can be a trying time for all humans and dogs involved.

Before I had my girls, I had my old dog Attila, and when I was in hospital with them both times, I gave my ex husband a blanket or something with the baby smell on it, before I took them home. Attila was great with the babies because he was familiar with their smells before they came home.

I didn't really do anything to prepare my old dog. She seemed to instinctively know that that weird little creature belonged with me, so she just seemed to accept her immediately. And I think she was just happy she got to stay home with us for the next few months. I used to joke that my daughter probably must have thought that the dog was her mother too, because she was just always right there by my side.

I did make sure that we went for walks twice a day like we used to. Just took the pram and later the bike and trailer.

I had an Australian terrier at that time. He used to lie over my stomach, bub would kick and dog would growl.
When I brought bub home from the hospital (31 years ago, gawd, nearly 32) The first thing I did was let the dog lick the top of his head. From that time onward the dog was devoted to him, would sit outside next to the pram in the shade. Dog still slept with us and we made sure he had enough attention and there was no jealousy.

Any posts made under the name of Di_dee1 one can be used by anyone as I do not give a rats.

Google "not magnetizing dogs, or demagnetizing kids and dogs". There are some very good articles.

Like anything I think it's all about preparation, same for instance if you were suddenly going from part time work to full time work. It's also about raising a confident dog and not a velcro dog.

My SIL played recordings of babies crying to get her rather sensitive dog use to the noise and she slowly withdrew some of her attention from the dog and got her husband to start more of the feeding and walking. This was all done well in advance because she anticipated that her dog would be really "put out" by the new arrival. When in fact it was all quite the opposite. I think it was not only because she prepared well in advance but because she went from full time work to being home, the dog thought it was great.

I would go MAC's way, prepare the dog with less attention and noise.....It also depends on the breeds, some breeds are very instinctive to caring for family members, some not so ........I don't think you can use a blanket system for all dogs.

I am not a dog expert, but I do know they rely on their nose a lot, just the fact that Pawfectionist even brought the topic up...A lot of dog owners wouldn't give the dog two thoughts when a baby is coming home, so the blanket method is a lot simpler, if you haven't had the time or to think about it in advance. Most mums who are about to give birth don't really feel like going for a walk or a waddle lol!

Because I had not done anything in advance, it was extra important that I did not give my dog less attention when the baby was there. So rain or shine, I would walk her, with the baby, and I made sure I gave her lots of pats and cuddles, no matter how tired I felt. But my dog was a couch potato, so apart from the local walks, there as no need to play with her or anything.